NEW YORK CITY

FACES A REAL

AFFORDABILITY CRISIS

Mission

Across the five boroughs of New York City, low-income and moderate-income households are facing a real affordability crisis in housing. The crisis is fueled by the fact that wages are declining and housing prices are rising. Policies like the Urstadt Law prevent the City from advancing strategies to preserve affordable housing. Over the past 10 years, rents have increased at twice the rate of household incomes citywide. At the same time, the number of rent-regulated apartments has been steadily declining, and most new housing construction has been geared toward the rich - and New York City’s homeless population has soared to the highest levels since the Great Depression.

The Real Affordability for All campaign was launched in March 2014 to advocate for low- and moderate-income households who are increasingly being priced out of their neighborhoods. The campaign is driven by a broad coalition of tenant associations, community organizations, faith groups, immigrant advocates, and others committed to real affordability. It has reenergized and reactivated a shared sense of purpose in the affordable housing movement.

Our Platform

A major goal of Real Affordability for All is to ensure that Mayor de Blasio’s housing policies prioritize and deliver real affordability for the most economically vulnerable households.

This platform reflects the views of thousands of low-income and moderate-income New Yorkers, and dozens of organizations actively involved in the Real Affordability for All campaign. It combines the on-the-ground perspective of tenants with analysis from top experts and recommendations from affordable housing developers. In this way, it is unlike any other affordable housing platform out there, and designed to spur action by Mayor de Blasio.

During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump consistently pointed to Goldman Sachs as the best symbol of the financial elite’s hold on elected officials.

He won the presidency on a populist message of draining the swamp, but instead he has allowed the swamp to seep into the highest levels of power in his White House. While Trump has loudly scapegoated immigrants for job loss, he has more quietly appointed nearly half a dozen Goldman Sachs alums—architects of the 2008 housing crisis—to his administration.